InvestEngine vs Trading 212

Ever wondered who would come out on top in a battle between InvestEngine vs Trading 212? Well, read on to find out how they compare for features, fees and much more.

Overall winner Our verdict
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Trading 212 and InvestEngine are two of the cheapest investing providers available to UK retail investors. So, it make sense to pit InvestEngine vs Trading 212 against each other in a head-to-head battle.

Both Trading 212 and InvestEngine offer a decent range of investments and a few account options, including a stocks and shares ISA. So, check out our breakdown of InvestEngine vs Trading 212 and hopefully this will help you pick who’s best, depending on what’s most important to you – whether that’s fees, investment choice, account types or anything else.

InvestEngine vs Trading 212: At a glance

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
Finder score★★★★★★★★★★
Customer satisfaction survey★★★★★★★★★★
Fees score★★★★★★★★★★
Stocks and shares ISA available?
FSCS protected?
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InvestEngine and Trading 212 are pretty close when it comes to their Finder score, with InvestEngine scoring a solid 4.4 out of 5, and Trading 212 scoring an even more impressive 4.7 out of 5.

Both platforms offer stocks and shares ISA, and both come with full Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection of up to £85,000.

Trading 212 and InvestEngine both received positive feedback in our most recent Finder Investing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024 results. However, InvestEngine was actually tied for first place.

Both platforms offer excellent value to UK investors, InvestEngine only offers exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but it’s the cheapest platform for this popular type of investment and has a fee score of 5 out of 5. Trading 212 offers a wider range of assets and is one of the best all-round performers with a fee score of 5 out of 5.

Round 1: Products

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
General investment account
Stocks and shares ISA
Lifetime ISA (LISA)
Pension (SIPP)
Junior ISA (JISA)/Junior SIPP (JSIPP)
Interest on cash balances
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk. 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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The key difference when it comes to account options available is that InvestEngine offers a very cheap self-invested personal pension (SIPP) with a fee of just 0.15%.

Unfortunately, neither platform offers a lifetime ISA (LISA) or a junior stocks and shares ISA (JISA). However, Trading 212 does pay high interest on cash, and it does also offer a cash ISA.

Winner: InvestEngine

Round 2: Investment choice

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
Investment choice score★★★★★★★★★★
Available markets 1 (global ETF funds)3+
Number of investments70013,000+
Number of ETFs/funds7002,000
Fractional shares
Min. initial deposit£100£1
Min. investment£1£1
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk. 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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InvestEngine is fairly limiting as it only offers ETFs. Whereas Trading 212 offers stocks, ETFs, investment trusts and more. In fact Trading 212 has over 13,000 investment options.

You can buy fractional shares on InvestEngine and Trading 212 from just £1, however you need a £100 minimum initial investment for InvestEngine.

Winner: Trading 212

Round 3: Fees

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
Fees score★★★★★★★★★★
Platform fees0% - 0.25%£0
US sharesN/A£0
UK sharesN/A£0
International shares£0
Funds/ETFs£0 (ongoing ETF fees apply)
£0
Foreign exchange fee0%0.15%
Regular investingYes (Savings Plans)
Yes (AutoInvest feature)
Withdrawal fee£0£0
Deposit fee£0£0
Inactivity fee£0£0
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk. 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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It’s hard to separate the two when it comes to fees as they’re both cheap investing platforms that offer great benefits like the option to use a free stocks and shares ISA account.

However, the fact that Trading 212 offers low fees on a more diverse range of investments and still remains cheap across the board means that it’s the winner here. In fact, Trading 212 is our overall best trading app for low fees.

Winner: Trading 212

Round 4: Ease of use

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
Ease of use score★★★★★★★★★★
Apple iOS rating4.8/54.6/5
Google Play rating 4.5/53.9/5
Ways to contact customer serviceContact form and social mediaPhone, email and in-app chat
UI/UXGoodGood
Desktop or web access
Mobile app
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk. 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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Both platforms scored extremely well in our ease of use assessment. Trading 212 and InvestEngine offer excellent mobile and desktop apps that are simple to use and are highly review on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Winner: Tie

Round 5: Tools, resources and features

InvestEngineTrading212 Invest
Tools, resources and features★★★★★★★★★★
Analysis features
Tools for investing/trading
Social features
Learning resources
Additional features
Keep in mindCapital at riskCapital at risk. 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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This is another area where it’s hard to separate InvestEngine and Trading 212.

InvestEngine has some excellent features like one-click portfolio rebalancing, automated investing with savings plans, and a portfolio look-through feature to see exactly what your ETFs are investing in.

Trading 212 also has some useful features like 24/5 trading, share lending, and the options to create and share mini-portfolios using its pies.

Winner: Tie

Overall winner: Is InvestEngine better than Trading 212?

These are two of the best (and cheapest) investing platforms available to UK investors.

If you want to use a SIPP and only want to invest in ETFs, InvestEngine may suit you. However, if you want a more diverse investing experience, Trading 212 could be better.

Winner: Trading 212

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
Deputy editor

George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio

George's expertise
George has written 187 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Investing
  • Personal finance
  • Tax
  • Pensions
  • Mortgages

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